MILAN — Europe's opera houses seem to have a way of creating high drama off the stage as well as on...

Now it is the turn of the Teatro alla Scala to have a $50 million renovation, and the people of Milan are holding their breath. This venerable opera house in the heart of this city will close on Dec. 31 and transfer its activities to a new theater being built on Milan's outskirts.

<B>La Scala moves house</B><BR>From BBC Arts<BR> <P>Milan's famous opera company, La Scala, has inaugurated a new theatre to replace its legendary venue, which is closed for renovations. <BR>Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata, which opened the new, 2,400-seat Arcimboldi Theatre, was sold out, and the performers, under the direction of conductor Riccardo Muti, were given a rousing six-minute applause and half-a-dozen curtain calls. <P><A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1771000/1771143.stm" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A>

<BR><small>La Scala opera house: Undergoing renovation</small><P><B>Milan's opera house to reopen</B><BR> <P>La Scala opera company in Milan will perform again on Friday in its new temporary home after falling glass ceiling panels forced its closure last week. <BR>The Teatro degli Arcimboldi closed at the end of January when the panels crashed onto empty seating during a ballet performance. <P>No one was hurt but the accident overshadowed the debut of the new theatre, already the subject of controversy due to the haste with which some considered it had been built.<BR> <A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/entertainment/arts/newsid_1806000/1806694.stm" TARGET=_blank>http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/entertainment/arts/newsid_1806000/1806694.stm</A>

<B>La Scala refit starts legal row</B><BR>from the BBC website<P> <BR>Milan's famous opera company, La Scala, has found itself at the centre of a court battle as preservationists fight to stop work to pull out the stage and backstage area. <BR>The building plans are part of an ambitious restoration programme on the18th Century venue, begun six months ago. <P>Italian environmental group Legambiente has begun legal proceedings, arguing the space is as historically important as the theatre's delicate boxes and galleries. <P>La Scala's officials say the restoration is necessary for the company to put on more and better productions.<BR> <BR>An administrative tribunal is to rule over the summer on the petition to stop the work, which is already well under way.<P><A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/entertainment/arts/newsid_2124000/2124998.stm" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A>

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Renovation of La Scala piques some, but the show goes on at opera's temporary home<P>By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press<P>MILAN, Italy - A new drama is playing out behind the scenes at La Scala as it undergoes a major renovation, and while it's not as tragic as "La Traviata" or as bloody as "Tosca," it's certainly theatric enough for the great opera house.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><a href=http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020712/ap_wo_en_po/italy_la_scala_s_dramas_1 target=_blank>More</a> on Yahoo!

For the first time in its 224-year history, La Scala company was inaugurating its opera season away from its traditional downtown theater near Milan's gothic cathedral

Operagoers heading to Saturday's season opener featuring Christoph Gluck's "Iphigenie en Aulide" in La Scala's temporary home on the outskirts of the city had the options of using shuttles, buses or taxis to escape traffic jams and crowds of Christmas shoppers

Reconstruction work on the world-famous La Scala opera house in Milan has been halted following complaints about the project, according to reports. Opposition politicians and environmental organisations have managed to put a temporary stop to the restoration work after applying to Milan's regional administrative tribunal, says the Guardian newspaper in the UK.

They fear the building work does not follow the original plans approved by Milan city council.

Dancer Carla Fracci, who has performed many times on the stage, has spoken out about her concerns about the acoustics of the revamped venue and its appearance.

The 18th Century venue is undergoing a radical restoration programme at a cost of £25m and will remain closed to the public for more than two years.

Critics say restoration has ruined La Scala By Philip Willan in Rome for The Guardian

A controversial restoration project has ripped the heart out of Milan's La Scala opera house, severely damaging its renowned acoustics, members of Italy's cultural elite claimed yesterday. Admirers of Italy's premier opera venue, including the dancer Carla Fracci and the former chairman of state broadcaster RAI, Roberto Zaccaria, said the work would seriously damage the theatre's appearance and acoustics. It was also illegal, they told a press conference in Rome, because the project had not been properly approved by the city council.

"They have even destroyed the orchestra pit," said Ms Fracci, the doyenne of Italian ballet, who gave some of her most memorable performances on La Scala's slanting stage. "I raised the alarm a year ago but they wouldn't listen to me."

Repairs 'ripping heart out of La Scala' By Sophie Arie for The Observer

Passers-by in Milan's Piazza della Scala might not suspect a thing. The city's famous opera house, Il Teatro alla Scala, stares serenely over the square, where fans have flocked for more than 200 years. But behind the scenes a row is blazing as preservationists argue that the façade - albeit impressive - is all that is left of the eighteenth-century theatre a year after a restoration operation began.

'They are excavating, not building. It's demolition, not restoration,' said Ennio Rota of the Italian environmental ist group Legambiente. 'From what we know, inside it's empty now. Just a big hole.' Rota said workers, digging up the floor where the stalls used to be, have 'hit water' and 'don't know what to do'. He added: 'They haven't let anyone near the site for 20 days.'

Dumbing down row at La Scala Left suspects dispute may allow Berlusconi to ambush opera house and install his man at top in Milan. By John Hooper in Rome for The Guardian

The board of governors of La Scala was last night meeting to try to resolve a dispute between two of the most respected figures in Italy's cultural life.

The row between the opera's musical director and conductor, Riccardo Muti, and its general manager, Carlo Fontana, has fermented into a heady potion of pride and politics.

At the heart of the affair is the restoration of La Scala's 18th-century opera house in the centre of Milan. While it undergoes a £40m revamp, its programme of operas, ballets and concerts is being run at the Arcimboldi theatre, a big auditorium on the outskirts of the city.

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